Who Made The Phone Call

• Something happened. I just do not know what yet but it had to have been done at the highest levels.

The support for Schwartz and the City position by the Province has evaporated into thin air. The political decision has been made to sell the DRIC road aggressively.

I wonder if the Engineering Complex downtown was the final straw! That has been so quiet for so long. Perhaps it was the increased demand for money for the Tunnel Plaza improvements or for money for Detroit for the US Tunnel operation. Those two matters are off the radar screen now.

Why just a few weeks ago, on June 16, 2007, Dwight Duncan said:

• "My expectation is to have the province and city be on the same page on this and we are working towards that."
  
  Duncan said he has seen the options Schwartz offered to DRIC.
  
  "I thought they were fascinating," he said. "They show his insight and talent. I look forward to speaking with him and hearing more of what the city has to say."

Sandra Pupatello said:

• "Pupatello called the [DRIC June] delay announcement a "good sign" since it means serious discussions are taking place.
  
  "I think we are being respectful of the city because we all want the best solution," she said. "In my discussions with the mayor I feel we are very much of the same mind on what we would like to see.
  
  "If anything we are trying to hurry this up. I want (the recommendations) out. We can't afford to slow this up."

Why Eddie even sent a letter of support to Sandra's nomination meeting.

It's all changed now. Check out Sandra and Dwight on A-channel news. http://www.achannel.ca/windsor/news_46758.aspx

What a spunky guy Spanky has become all of a sudden. Why Dwight and Sandra are even going to go out and have a dialogue with us over this. Wow are we ever lucky that we are so honoured before the election! I'd like to be around when Dwight and Bill Marra have some harsh words over their conflicting positions.

In the Star, Duncan and Pupatello were supportive of the DRIC Road with Dwight calling it

• "the "most expensive use of roadbed capacity in the history of Ontario.
  
  "We have rejected the low-cost alternatives," he said. "We think we have found some creative solutions. This is not a moat. It's a well-planned out (solution) that will enhance the community.
  
  "In terms of urban landscapes, not only is this better than anything we have in Ontario, this is also on par with anything you will find in the world."
  
  Pupatello believes further discussions with mayor and city officials will prove fruitful.
  
  "I anticipate when we get to the end we will be very close to what the city is looking for," she said. "Is it perfect today? I don't think so. There is still room for improvement. I'm just happy we are moving closer to what the city is looking for."
  
  Both ministers welcome further discussions with Francis and council to discuss an agreeable solution, but Duncan added: "This community is struggling. We can't waste time anymore. There are too many people without work and (investment) opportunities lost. We have to move forward with a resolution."

Schwartz, who is Sam Schwartz?

Obviously, we have just been told that we are going to get a promise of 10,000 plus jobs when the DRIC road is started and if it is delayed, it will be Eddie's fault, not that of Sandra and Dwight. It will be sold as Parkway with "short tunnels" as the Premier's Office must have decided on language as the final olive branch to the Mayor several weeks ago .

I expect it was the Prime Minister's Office calling the Premier's office or perhaps the Ministers of Finance talking or the Deputy Ministers in the Transportation groups who spoke with the Feds telling the Province here is all the money we are putting in....do whatever you want to find the extra money for a tunnel because we are NOT putting in any more. That ended it.

Or perhaps the Premier had enough of Eddie thinking he was someone in a position of strength and told our two Ministers to grow up and shut him up since their seats are safe anyway. They are Ministers after all and should start acting like it. I was told months ago by a Liberal political operative that the Province had their own game plan re the border that would come out before the election and that Eddie was irrelevant in their plans

It's all a wink-wink game anyway. Councillor Dilkens' Council question re the conditions of the overpasses on E C Row at Council on Monday will allow the Mayor and the Senior Levels to use possible catastrophic collapse as the justification for re-building E C Row with the connections to the County. Eddie will graciously give in or pretend it was imposed on him (why else make a big fuss about being involved in the Manning Road EA).

In the end, we will hear Eddie tell us how much money we are saving in not having to maintain E C Row and how much we will not have to spend to upgrade it. He will tell us , or rather his sycophants will, about how he outsmarted the Senior Levels over the Expressway expansion. Then he can use those millions he is saving on E C Row to buy more acres at the arena site for more parking while we can pay for the sewers and watermains.